Review of Dave (1993) by Chantal B — 12 May 2015

This is one of those films I grew up watching all the time. It's the story of a man named Dave who looks exactly like the President of the United States (both played by Kevin Kline). Dave is then hired to stand in for President Mitchell at a minor political function. However, when the President suffers a massive stroke the job is extended a little longer. What I've always enjoyed about this movie is how it shows that everyday common sense doesn't exactly fit in The White House. Dave tries to do things with integrity and logic, but as soon as he does it starts to rub some of his political advisers the wrong way. Frank Langella is just amazing as the controlling, but easily riled White House Chief of Staff. He has a couple of scenes that perfectly sum up what most of us think politicians are like behind closed doors. Kevin Dunn is a nice counterpoint, as the appeaser in the Oval Office. He likes Dave's ideas, but still has some shady ideas of his own. Naturally, Kevin Kline is amazing. I never can get enough of him, and think he is easily one of the more underrated actors of the 80s and 90s. He effortlessly portrays 2 unique characters here, and does a nice job of blending them when one is impersonating the other. Finally I'll mention Sigourney Weaver, who is charming as the First Lady. She is wonderfully venomous in the early scenes, but makes a believable transition into a more friendly demeanor later on. And that's just 4 of the actors in a film loaded with great actors like Ben Kingsley, Charles Grodin, Laura Linney, and more.

I'm perfectly willing to admit that the film probably has a bit too much naivete about the political world. Naturally, some of the things that Dave proposes and enacts would have some pretty dramatic consequences in the real world. But that's the magic of movies. We are free to imagine a world where the manager of a temp agency and a simple accountant could find a way to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the national budget. It's ridiculous, but it sure makes for a heartwarming scene. I also feel that some of the structure of this movie is a bit off. There's this implied friendship building between Dave and a secret service agent played by Ving Rhames. There aren't enough scenes fleshing out this relationship for the final scenes between them to be convincing. Also there are a few too many minor details in this whole doppelganger-switching plan that don't really make sense if you examine them closely. However, if you are one of those people who can get past the need for a movie to make sense in the real world and you can just enjoy the Hollywood magic, then Dave is a thoroughly entertaining film. It's not the best film in this genre (I think I probably like The American President better,) but it is one that I'll watch any time and would recommend you check out as well when you get a chance.